


This Accelerating Rate of Change

by Aishuu



Series: East Kingdoms Block Party [6]
Category: Juuni Kokki | Twelve Kingdoms
Genre: Chores, Cute, Gen, Shopping, The Livejournal exodus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:49:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aishuu/pseuds/Aishuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enki goes shopping in Hourai in order to fill requests from his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Accelerating Rate of Change

 

 

Rokuta wasn't sure what drew him to Hourai, time and time again. It had been more than five hundred years since he could call himself a citizen of Wa. He had no connection to this vicious land that had eaten and spit him out centuries ago.

But a couple times a year, he found himself summoning a mieshoku, and traveling to the Other Place. He had fallen into the habit of making those trips after Taiki had been lost – both times – and though he had decreased the frequency now, he knew he would never completely stop.

There was something special about Hourai, he thought as he wove his way through the over-crowded streets of Edo – Tokyo, now. There were so many people that he couldn't help but feel claustrophobia. As a kirin, he was supposed to love purity, and that was true to some extent. But he couldn't keep away from this polluted world, where so much was happening that he feared if he blinked, he would miss something vital.

Privately, he could admit that while he loved the country Shouryuu was creating in En, its pastoral nature was a bit on the dull side. He sometimes wondered if stagnation would prove to be the end of their rule, a gradual slide from the way as Shouryuu lost his mandate. That would be preferable to the other option – Shouryuu at heart was a fighter, and there was always the possibility he would try to extend his arm too far.

But such depressing thoughts weren't suited for this trip, where he had no major plans except a bit of shopping. He looked at the list, written on fine paper. Both Sekishi and Taiki had finally acceded to his offer to bring them gifts from their home world. Taiki had asked for paints and brushes which weren't available in Tai; Sekishi had asked for several novels, since she enjoyed reading but still couldn't understand the language of the Twelve Kingdoms enough to do so for pleasure. He planned on picking Shouryuu up some fine sake, since encouraging his master to get drunk was one way to ensure he didn't wander away from the palace for a bit.

He would never let Shouryuu know how difficult it was for him to purchase alcohol, since his human form looked like a prepubescent boy. He didn't want his master to think Rokuta was going out of his way for him.

After bartering some jewelry at a nearby pawn shop – and getting horribly ripped off due to his apparent age – he wandered to a nearby crafts store to pick up the acrylic paints Taiki had been persuaded into requesting (after much, much nagging from Rokuta). He bought a small set, one which would fit into the backpack he wore, and then selected a variety of high-quality brushes as well.

The next store was more difficult, because he didn't have a clue what kind of novels Sekishi would enjoy. He'd never been one of reading, finding it a chore. Thankfully, a store clerk noticed his distress. The middle-aged woman smiled at him kindly, "Are you looking for something?"

"I want to get some books for my 'neechan," he replied, knowing that Shouryuu would find that statement hilarious. It wasn't honest, but Rokuta figured a lie was forgivable given the circumstances.

"What does she like to read? Fiction, nonfiction? Do you know her favorite writers?"

Feeling very out of his depth, he shrugged. "I think she likes fiction," he said. "Uplifting stories, as well as the classics." That would be a good place to start – he'd ask Sekishi for more specifics the next time.

The woman helped him select an array of six books, which weighed his bag down as he shifted it back onto his shoulders. Then the woman actually ruffled his hair, and it was all he can do to keep from slapping her hand away. She was a nice lady, and there was no way she could know how offensive the brush of her touch against his forehead was.

The next stop was the one he was truly loathing, the liquor store. Outside, he found exactly what he needed: a man wearing a slightly dirty clothes, who was obviously down on his luck. He talked to the man about purchasing some sake, and the man agreed without asking any questions.

Rokuta leaned against the wall for an uncomfortable five minutes for the man to return. Wordlessly he was handed a bottle wrapped in a brown bag, and after taking a peek inside, he offered the man most of his remaining cash. After stowing it in the front pocket of the backpack, he was almost ready to leave for En.

Only after he finished shopping for everyone else did he give into the temptation to find what he desired for himself. Several bars of Belgium chocolate joined his other purchases in the backpack, along with boxes of strawberry pocky and a couple packets of hard candy. Some changes Hourai underwent weren't bad, he realized. Any world that had such a variety of sweets surely wasn't all bad.


End file.
